December 2000 Torrential rains test Corps Big Island flood control … · 2012-07-19 · I don’t mind retiring as it gives ‘emerging’ leaders an opportunity to emerge. “ ”

As rains on the Big Islandof Hawaii in early November built up to

record-breaking levels and con-cern mounted as stream banksoverflowed and bridges washedout from the unprecedented tor-rent, a number of Honolulu En-gineer District (HED) employeesalso watched with bated breath.Their concern was with the per-formance of several flood controlprojects that the District designedand built—Alenaio Stream,Wailoa Stream and PaauauStream. It was a great relief to ev-eryone that the three projects suc-cessfully carried at least as muchwater as the 100-year-flood lev-els for which they were designed.Civil engineer technician DanMeyers, EC-T, found that outupon boarding a plane and go-ing to Hilo as soon as he could tode a preliminary “post-event” as-sessment.

“I had walked our floodcontrol projects many times onour regular O&M (Operations and Maintenance) inspection roundsand I wanted to see how certain sections performed under the pres-sure of 37 inches of rainfall within a very short period,” said Meyers.O & M inspections are conducted regularly by HED in conjunctionwith the State of Hawaii. “Early reports said that there was a lot ofdevastation along certain stream paths so I also wanted to start theball rolling toward releasing emergency funds if it was warranted,”he said.

Torrential rains test Corps BigIsland flood control projects

Story by Alexander Kufel

Joel Hendrix, EMD chief, agreed. “We believe the floodingpeaked about 2 a.m. Dan was on the phone very early in the morn-ing seeking authorization to do an assessment. Our immediateconcern was for the welfare of the residents of the hardest hit ar-eas,” he said. “Dan was able to confirm early that there was no lossof life and that although there was some property damage to homes

See “Big Island Flood,” page 10

Sakadoretires after40 years

Page 3InsideInsideInsideProfile—HED employee sup-ports deployments

Page 13

Commander’sComments

Page 15

Family housingproject com-pleted

Page 8

Pacific ConnectionThe

Vol. 34, Nr. 6 US Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu Engineer District December 2000

The Aleniao Flood Control Project is functioning near capacity carrying a torrent from 37 inches of rain intwo days. —Photo by Dan Meyers.

2 The Pacific Connection December 2000

Ambition: It’s not what you are, it’s what you don’t become that hurts. —Oscar Levant, pianist and actor, 1906-1972

The Pacific Connection, an unofficial publication authorizedby AR360-1, is a bimonthly newspaper produced by thePublic Affairs Office, Pacific Ocean Division and HonoluluEngineer District, US Army Corps of Engineers, FortShafter, HI 96858-5440. Telephone (808) 438-9862. Thiscommand information newspaper is for employees andothers who request it in writing. Contents are not neces-sarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S.Government, the Department of Defense or the De-partment of the Army. Circulation: approximately 1,300.

This newspaper is printedon recycled paper.

Pacific Ocean Division Commander...........................Brig. Gen. Randal R. Castro

Honolulu Engineer District Commander.........................Lt. Col. Ronald N. Light

Chief, Public Affairs .............................................................Douglas S. MaKitten

Public Affairs Specialist...............................................................Alexander Kufel

Editor ...............................................................................................Michelle Cain

Internet hoaxesand urban legends

waste our time

I hate urban legends, and you should too!Maybe “urban legend” is a new term to you and no, in this

usage we aren’t referring to Shaquille O’Neal or some other innercity basketball star.

Australia’s Urban Legend Research Centre offers the follow-ing definition:

“An Urban Legend is usually a (good/captivating/titillating/engrossing/incredible/worrying) story that has had a wide audi-ence, is circulated spontaneously, has been told in several forms,and which many have chosen to believe (whether actively or pas-sively) despite the lack of actual evidence to substantiate the story.”

Let’s look at some examples that have circulated on HEDcomputers. One was a request to add your name to an email petitionto stop a tax on email. Another was a plea to send a card to a dyingcancer victim trying to set a collecting record before he dies. Athird was a warning about a dangerous disease transmitted by eat-ing bananas from a certain country.

All of these — and many more — have something in com-mon. They sound somewhat real, but theyare as phony as three-dollar bills. That’sright. Call them urban legends, Internethoaxes, junk mail, whatever. The point isthat this claptrap clogs your computer, getsyou needlessly concerned and wastes yourtime. In “bc” (before computer) days, stufflike this circulated in chain letters whichpromised good luck if you kept forwarding

them and dire consequences if you didn’t. It might take weeks forsuch letters to move from the mainland to Hawaii.

Today, thanks to Bill Gates and the Apple folks, urban leg-ends, like everything else in cyberspace, can go from Tegucigalpato Tokyo or Miami to Mililani in minutes. As a result, stuff thatonce would have ended up in a trash can, takes on a life of its own.It’s not unusual to see the same urban legends pop up every fewmonths, like crab grass, Suzanne Somers television infomercialsand other annoyances.

Maybe it is easier for those of us in the always-skeptical news

business to spot this stuff a gigabyte away. But you don’t need tobe an investigative reporter or Sherlock Holmes to find the realstory.

A number of web sites, all just a few clicks away on theInternet, can provide you the information you need to put a stop tothis claptrap.

Just check out a few of these and within a few minutes youwill see just what I mean:

http://www.urbanlegends.com/(Alt.Folklore.Urban site)http://urbanlegends.about.com/science/urbanlegends/

(About.com site)http://www.snopes2.com/(San Fernando Valley Folklore

Society site)http://www.ulrc.com.au/(Australia Urban Legends Re-

search Centre site)http://www.scambusters.org (Billed as the “number 1 pub-

lication on Internet fraud”)So the next time your Cousin Kimo, Aunt Agnes or Joe Bob

from Mobile District sends you something that sounds like an ur-ban legend, check it out first BEFORE forwarding it. Then, moneyto malassadas — or dollars to doughnuts if you prefer — when youfind out the legend is just that, send your research back in a reply towhomever forwarded it to you and do everyone a favor.

Oh, and in the off chance that one of these tall tales actuallyturns out to be true? Give me a call, show me the proof and I’ll buythe malassadas!

By Doug MaKitten

Opinion

And the walls came tumblin’ down... The first of 305dwelling units scheduled for demolition at Aliamanu Military Reser-vation came down Nov. 27. The buildings were determined to be toocostly to repair due to extensive termite damage and cracks in thefoundations. HED awarded the $2.25 million demolition contract toSan Construction on Sept. 30, 2000. A second contract for thedemolition of 270 additional units at AMR is in the pre-award stage.—Photo by Lise Ditzel-Ma

December 2000 The Pacific Connection 3

Democracy: It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.—Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister, 1874-1965

It’s the eve of his retirement following 20 years of active-dutymilitary service as an engineer and 20 more years of civilian

service with the Army Corps of Engineers and Raleigh Sakado, PP-

A, is still concerned with the welfare of employees and the future ofthe organization. Still very much the deputy chief of HED Pro-grams and Project Management, Sakado said that he sees the ne-cessity for visionary planning as a key ingredient in future suc-cesses of the Corps and feels that grooming youth to adapt to chang-ing requirements is an essential part of that process. The require-ments for the changes HED has been experiencing lately are noth-ing new, he said. What’s new is that the organization’s ability torespond quickly and well is more critical than ever.

“If I can contribute anything more to how HED and POD aregoing to look in the future before I leave I want to do that,” he said.“I don’t mind retiring as it gives ‘emerging’ leaders an opportunityto emerge. I hope that I’ve done a good enough job in groomingpeople to take the places of people like myself.” Sakado said thathe has always tried to push young people to seek challenges andhigher goals.

These concerns are not recent developments in Sakado’s

PP-A chief Sakado retires after40 years of federal serviceStory and photograph by Alexander Kufel

I don’t mind retiring as itgives ‘emerging’ leaders

an opportunity to emerge.

“

”

thinking. He said that he learned to value change early in life as adirect result of growing up in the slow-paced environment ofKamuela on the Big Island. When he left home to attend school atthe University of Hawaii, Manoa campus, he found the dynamismof life there fascinating. This was further confirmed following gradu-

ation in the advanced ROTC program with a degree

in civil engineering when he fulfilled his militaryobligation by going on active duty in the Army as aSecond Lieutenant. He spent the next two years inFrance.

Sakado said that he loved being in the Armyand discovered in his first assignment that the keysto getting things done with both military and civil-ians alike lie in the importance of developing mutualrespect and treating people as human beings. He saidthat his initial experience in working with civiliansas an Army officer was with French nationals and herealized that people everywhere were pretty muchthe same.

Although he was a reserve-officer on active-duty, Sakado enjoyed Army life and developed acareer which took him to Virginia, Missouri, QuemoyIsland and Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea, Germany, andHawaii (25th Infantry Division and PACOM) before

he retired. Along the way he married Mabel, his wife of 24 years,and earned a master’s degree in civil engineering from ArizonaState University in the Army’s advanced degree program. He is alsoa graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College at FortLeavenworth, Kan. His 20-year civilian career with the Corps hasbeen with Pacific Ocean Division and Honolulu Engineer District.Sakado began as a general engineer with Facilities Engineers Sup-port Branch in 1981. Since 1986 he has served as chief of variousdepartments, including a one-year stint as acting-chief of Engi-neering Services Division, DETS (Directorate of Engineer andTechnical Services).

During the period when POD and HED reorganized into stand-alone organizations, Sakado was instrumental in consolidating theFacilities Engineering Support Branch, the Military ConstructionBranch (MILCON-MCA), the Army Family Housing Branch, Envi-ronmental Branch and Civil Works Branch. He also was detailedfor some time as Deputy to the District Commander.

Raleigh Sakado thanks everyone for his well-attended retirement party atHonolulu Country Club Tuesday, Dec. 5.


Character: Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.—Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President, 1809-1865

Lt. Gen. Robert Flowers became the 50thchief of Engineers in an Oct. 23 cer-

emony at Fort Myer, Va.During the ceremony, presided at by

Gen. Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff of the U.S.Army, Flowers was also promoted from ma-jor general to lieutenant general. As part ofthe ceremony, the historic gold castles origi-nally owned by Gen. Douglas MacArthurwere pinned on Flowers’ uniform.

Before assuming command of theCorps, Flowers was commanding general ofthe Maneuver Support Center and FortLeonard Wood, Mo.

“When I was at Fort Leonard Wood, Iwas seriously considering retiring,” Flow-ers said. “In February, when the first adverse

Flowers becomes 50th

Chief of Engineers inFort Myer ceremony

articles came out about the Corpsof Engineers, Linda (Flowers’wife) came to me and said, ‘Youknow what this means, don’tyou?’ I said, ‘No,’ and she said, ‘Itmeans they need you, and youneed to go for this job.’

“To the men and women ofthe Corps of Engineers, yourreputation for excellence is sec-ond to none,” Flowers continued.“I’ve got great faith in the menand women of the Corps, and inthe way you conduct day-to-daybusiness. If we continue to oper-ate under the same principles ofcredibility and integrity as those

who came before us,there isn’t any chal-lenge we can’t seize.By working together,I promise you that the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers will not letthis country down.”

Flowers was born in Penn-sylvania and resided in severalareas of the world as his familymoved during his father’s mili-tary career. Following graduationand commissioning from the Vir-ginia Military Institute in 1969,he completed Airborne andRanger training and began hiscareer as an engineer officer. Heholds a master’s degree in civilengineering from the Universityof Virginia and is a registered pro-fessional engineer.

Flowers’ other commandsinclude an engineer company inGermany; the 307th EngineerBattalion, 82nd Airborne Divi-sion; the 20th EngineerBrigade, XVIII Corps (Air-borne); and the MississippiValley Division of the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers.

His operational deployments includecommand of an expanded brigade of 10 bat-talions (7,700 soldiers) during OperationsDesert Shield and Desert Storm; Task ForceEngineer for the Joint Task Force in Soma-lia; and Deputy Chief of Staff forEngineering (Forward), U.S. Army Europein Bosnia.

Flowers’ other assignments includeAssistant Division Commander, 2nd Infan-try Division (Mechanized), Eighth U.S.Army, South Korea; Deputy CommandingGeneral and Assistant Commandant, U.S.Army Engineer Center and School, FortLeonard Wood, Missouri; Branch Chief,Counternarcotics Operations Division,Washington, D.C.; Combat Developer,Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth,Kansas; Field Engineer and ResearchProject Manager for the Portland EngineerDistrict; and Staff Engineer in Thailand forthe Udorn Detachment and Northern Thai-land.

Lt. Gen. Robert Flowers (left), takes the Corps flag fromGen. Eric Shinseki, Army Chief of Staff, taking command ofthe Army Corps of Engineers as the 50th Chief of Engineers.— Photo by F.T. Eyre, HQUSACE

(Editor’s Note: HQUSACE Public Affairsprovided the information for this article.)

Lt. Gen. Robert Flowers, 50th Chief of Engineers.—USACE photo.


Mistakes: A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.—George Bernard Shaw, British dramatist, 1856-1950

Twenty-nine years ago, Hawaii was the setting for the begin-ning of a long and impressive military career for attorney

Vincent Faggioli, then a young infantry officer assigned to the 25th

Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks.So what better place than Honolulu to begin a new career,

this time as the newly appointed District Counsel with the Corpsof Engineers?

Of course, a lot has happened in those intervening years,namely a major career change from infantryman to lawyer. Faggiolialways had an interest in law, so after four years in the infantry heapplied for and was accepted into an Army program that allowedhim to go to law school full-time while still on active duty. Hegraduated from the University of Utah School of Law in 1978 andbecame a lawyer in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps.

“I joined the Army because I really believe that America isthe greatest country on earth,” said Faggioli. “It’s fulfilling andrewarding to be in the service of our country.

He made the transition from infantryman to attorney because,he said, “The foundation of our country is built on law. We ingovernment are creatures of law. There are more than two sides toevery issue; the law gives a well-rounded view of the way thingsare.” He added that the best part of being a lawyer is solving prob-lems and helping people in a way that will hold up in court.

Faggioli comes to the District on the heels of his retirementfrom the Army, at the rank of colonel.

Although the Corps of Engineers is vastly different from theJAG Corps,Faggioli hasworked with theCorps on legalmatters throughouthis career. “I knewit would be an in-teresting andexciting experi-

ence working with the Corps of Engineers,” he said. “The Corpsbuilds things that you can tangibly show people.”

He cited four goals that he has for the Office of Counsel:1) To be a responsive, customer-oriented organization. “One

that always makes the customer feel like they’re important andthat their issue is important to us,” he said.

2) To ensure that the Office of Counsel is right, profession-ally.

3) To be part of the Corps team. “We don’t consider our-selves a separate entity; we’re part of the same team.”

4) To have fun!Faggioli said he is eager for the District’s employees to teach

him what he needs to know about the Corps. “I’m in the receivemode,” he said. “I appreciate all the people here who are teachingme.”

Faggioli holds a bachelor of science in political science from

Office of Counsel welcomes new chief

the University of Utah, master of arts in public administration fromCentral Michigan University, juris doctor from the University ofUtah School of Law, and masters of law in both tax and contract lawand international law from George Washington University. He is amember of the Oklahoma and Utah Bar Associations and admittedto practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Prior to graduating from the University of Utah and receiv-ing his commission as an ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate,Faggioli spent three years doing missionary work in the SouthPacific, where he grew to love the Polynesian culture.

His final military assignment was as Staff Judge Advocate forthe U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. Other assign-ments include: Judge Advocate, United Nations Command, U.S.Forces Korea and Staff Judge Advocate, Eighth U.S. Army; SpecialCounsel to Mr. Frank Hunger, Assistant Attorney General, CivilDivision, U.S. Department of Justice; Principal Treaty Advisor/International Law Attorney for Commander, Ballistic Missile De-fense Organization; Staff Judge Advocate, 2nd Infantry Division,Korea; Chief Counsel/Staff Judge Advocate, White Sands MissileRange, N.M.; Attorney-Advisor for Department of the Army onGovernment Tax and Contract Matters, Headquarters, Departmentof the Army; Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, National Training Cen-ter, Fort Irwin, Calif.; and Prosecuting Attorney, Headquarters, 21st

Support Command, Kaiserslautern, Germany.Faggioli’s wife, Karen, an elementary school teacher, is hop-

ing to teach in Hawaii schools. She is also a lieutenant colonel inthe Army Reserve. His son, Vincent II, is a freshman at BrighamYoung University. In his leisure time, Faggioli enjoys sports; he isan avid runner and enjoys working out and playing golf. “I’m gladto be on an installation with a golf course,” he said. He also enjoyslaw-related reading and studying international law. And he says heloves lawyer jokes.

Vincent Faggioli, District Counsel

Story and photo by Michelle Cain

We in government arecreatures of law.

“

”


The trouble with using experience as a guide is that the final exam often comes first and then the lesson.—UnknownExperience:May your days be merry and bright...

LM’s CliffordOlivera, RoyYamanaka andMelvin Wrightassemble HED’scontribution tothe Fort ShafterChristmas carddisplay acrossfrom RichardsonTheater. Thecard won secondplace in the post-wide competition.—Photo by MichelleCain.

Season’s Greetings from HED

Volunteers load atruck with toys, cloth-ing and 400 pounds offood to be delivered tothe Community Clear-ing House and the Ha-waii Food Bank. Thedonations were col-lected during HED’s13th Annual CannedGoods, Toys andClothes Drive. —Photoby Michelle Cain.

Is a careerchange in hisfuture? KurtisKikkawa, CT-C,shows off his “ant-lers” at the SpecialEmphasis Pro-gram Committee’s(SEPC) annualChristmas party.—Photo by TammyLuke.

Whether through giant Christmascards, organizational parties, orgiving to the community, HED

team members found many ways toshare the holiday season.

Life: Life is like playing a violin in public and learning the instrument as one goes on. —Samuel Butler, English novelist, 1835-1902


Most people in the District know him as Bob Sundberg, anattorney with the Office of Counsel. But for the better part

of the past 12 months he’s worn a different hat—a BDU (BattleDress Uniform) cap, to beexact and he hasn’t been inHawaii either. Lt. Col. Rob-ert M. Sundberg has beenhalfway around the world,first in East Timor, then inwar-torn Bosnia.

Sundberg, a memberof the Army Reserve’s322nd Civil Affairs Brigade,began his travels in Sep-tember 1999 with atwo-month assignment inEast Timor. He was part ofa mixed group of reservistsand active duty civil affairspeople tasked, as part of anemergency call-up, to sup-port the alliedpeacekeeping force andstaff a Civil Military Op-erations Center. His work there included assisting military policein identifying points of contact for non-governmental organiza-tions to approach if they discovered suspected human rightsviolations. He returned to Hawaii in November. (See October/No-vember 1999 Pacific Connection.)

As a member of a Rapid Deployment Team, a special unitsubject to call-up at a moment’s notice,Sundberg responded to a presidential call-upin January and was quickly on his way toBosnia. He worked with the Office of HighRepresentative (the international organiza-tion charged with monitoring the 1995 DaytonPeace Accord and assisting the Bosnianpeople in developing democratic, western-style government and economic institutions)in Brcko as a liaison officer for the Stabiliza-tion Force (SFOR), doing legal and economic development work.

Sundberg noted that the country is beautiful and is aboutthe size of the state of Tennessee, with 4.5 million people livingthere.

“The people are warm and outgoing, friendly and person-able,” he said. Many of them fled eight years ago and now can’t goback to their homes because they’ve either been destroyed, arenow located in an area controlled by an opposing ethnic group, orare occupied by other displaced persons. About 60 percent of thepopulation are officially unemployed. The country’s main resources

are coal, iron, hydro-electric power, and timber.“Serbo-Croatian is about as different from English as Latin

or Greek is,” Sundberg said. He was able to pick up a few words andphrases of the language while he was there, but relied on goodinterpreter support for lengthy communications.

Sundberg said he hasnever experienced anythinglike what he did in Bosnia. Itwas a communist country for50 years, and the people arejust now beginning to learnwhat it’s like to have a west-ern economy and a westernway of life. “My sense is thatit will be many years beforeBosnia resembles a moderngovernment,” he said. “Thecountry is totally messed uptoday, four years after the warended. It is split into twoseparate entities, one of whichis split into two quasi-sepa-rate entities.”

When asked what im-pressed him the most abouthis experience in Bosnia,

Sundberg replied that there is a desperate longing of the peoplethere to lead normal lives again.

“There is an almost overwhelming sense that they had noidea how to go about regaining normalcy in their lives. Right nowthere’s a pervading sense of uncertainty about the future.”

In comparing the two experiences, Sundberg observed, “Theywere different in the sense that in East Timorit was the very beginning of the peacekeep-ing operation. Bosnia was a more matureoperation. They went from one end of thespectrum to the other in terms of peacekeep-ing operations.”

Sundberg began his military career onactive duty as an attorney in the Army’s JudgeAdvocate General Corps. He held assign-ments in Heidelberg and Mannheim,

Germany and Fort Lee, Va. before leaving active duty in 1987. Hecame to the District in November of that year, and with a strongdesire to serve his country and help other people, joined his currentArmy Reserve unit in 1988. “It’s rewarding when you’re able toparticipate in humanitarian missions,” he said.

He has found that it’s sometimes very difficult to juggle bothmilitary and civilian careers because of all the time required byeach. “This organization (Office of Counsel), our District leader-ship, and all of my colleagues at HED and POD have beentremendously supportive,” he said.

HED employee supports deployments

Lt. Col. Bob Sundberg (right), HED Office of Counsel, awaits transportation inShannon, Ireland with other members of his Army Reserve unit during adeployment. —Photo courtesy of Bob Sundberg.

Story by Michelle Cain

”

“It’s rewarding whenyou’re able to par-ticipate in humani-

tarian missions.

Fun:


The person who does not work for the love of work but only for money is not likely to make money nor to find much fun inlife. —Charles M. Schwab, American industrialist, 1862-1939

Team effort results in completion offamily housing on Schofield Barracks

If the Tuckers are any indication, there are 64 very happyfamilies living in brand new family housing on Schofield Bar-

racks.Chief Warrant Officer 2 James Tucker of C Co., 1st Battalion,

25th Aviation Regiment, his wifeGayle, daughter Elizabeth, andgranddaughter Alaysia movedinto their quarters in the newly-completed project in November.

“We absolutely lovethem,” raved Gayle Tucker. “Thespace is unbelievable. There’slots of storage space and a beau-tiful yard. We couldn’t ask formore. We are just so pleased withthis house.”

The FY99 Family Hous-ing New Construction Project isthe first one designated as of-ficer housing since newconstruction began in 1990,said Keith Nishioka, Director-ate of Public Works (DPW)Facilities Maintenance Coordi-nation Officer. Until now, allnew construction and revital-ization projects have been forenlisted soldiers and non-com-missioned officers.

“This project is a blessingfor the company grade cat-egory,” he said.

HED awarded the contract for 64 junior officer units to Texas-based Hunt Building Corporation in March 1999 at a cost of$13,147,911. It was awarded under the ‘design/build’ constructionconcept.

“Typically, we used to do the design and then award a con-tract to the contractor based on that design,” said project manager,Glen Takishita. “But today’s family housing projects are ‘design/build’ which is where we award a contract to the contractor andthey come up with the design for the project themselves, based onwhat is proposed.”

This process has been used in the construction of Army fam-ily housing in Hawaii since Aliamanu Military Reservation wasbuilt in the 1970s.

The design/build process works well for family housing con-

struction because the units don’t need to be built to conform tomilitary standards of construction, as do other installation projects.Housing can be built in line with commercial standards, thus pro-viding a product similar to what’s available outside the installation,Takishita explained.

The ‘design/build’ contract is one entity. The designer is part

of the contractor’s staff, so if the contractor has a problem with thedesign during construction, he can fix it without going back to theArchitect-Engineer consultant or in-house designer, explained LiseDitzel-Ma, who was the original project manager before takingmaternity leave.

“It’s been so successful, and we have it down pat. We’d like tomake all military construction ‘design/build,’ she said.

“The liability is less on the government, and it’s faster to getproblems resolved because the same entity is responsible for it,”she said. “It’s the wave of the future in military construction. Andit’s more cost effective for the government.”

Giving the design responsibility to the contractor saves thegovernment money up front, added Takishita.

Each family housing project is a learning process, Takishita

Agencies work together to improve soldiers’ quality of life

Story and photos by Michelle Cain

Gayle Tucker appreciates the well-designed kitchen, just one example of the exceptional planning andconstruction that went into the building of the FY99 Family Housing Project.

See “Team Effort,” page 9

Leadership: A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.—Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian playwright, 1828-1906


said. “We try to make use of lessons learned from previousprojects and improve as we go along.

“We also work closely with DPW to find out whatthey want included in each project, and then try to incorpo-rate all of their requests into the Request For Design.

“It’s a partnership,” said Nishioka. “If there were anyproblems the Corps was quick to react to our concerns. Eventhe contractor took that into account and tried to rectify anyproblems that evolved during the construction process.”

HED Construction Representative Al Carvalho,agreed. “It’s a team effort between the design contractor, ouroffice, and all Army agencies involved.

“We turned over the units in just about a year fromground-breaking. We worked around any problems that cameup without stopping work; we just kept on going and metour deadlines,” said Carvalho.

“We’ve had several projects with Hunt Building Cor-poration, and they’ve always been very cooperative inworking with the government,” said Takishita. “Their con-tract proposals are always very well done. They give useverything we ask for, yet their price is consistently lowerthan anyone else’s. We’ve had few, if any, problems; we’vepartnered really well with them.”

Carvalho explained that Hunt has a team that special-izes in Army family housing. “The units are very well-built.The Army is lucky to have somebody like Hunt who knows how todo business building family housing.”

Family housing projects encompass more than just the build-ings. They are full-blown neighborhood projects whereby thecontractor develops the site in full, to include amenities such as play-

grounds and bike paths. “It’s a neighborhood concept,” said Ditzel-Ma.Ultimately, a delighted customer is everyone’s goal upon

completion of a project such as this one. And if customer satisfac-tion can be measured by the Tucker family, all parties involvedseem to have scored a perfect ‘10.’

Chief Warrant Officer 2 James Tucker begins the process of unpacking andgetting settled in his new home at Schofield Barracks.

Moving trucks were a familiar sight during November and December as families moved into their new homes at Schofield Barracks. Thenewly-opened housing area is located near Burger King, behind the chapel.

Team Effort...Continued from page 8.

Laughter:


You don’t stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop laughing.—Michael Pritchard, motivational speaker

age to homes in areas other than our projects, major trag-edy was averted.”

Meyers also confirmed that while the three projects performedas designed andprotected surround-ing homes andproperty, they didexperience somedamage to them-selves. Hydraulicengineer JimPennaz, chief ofCivil Works Tech-nical Branch andthe designer of theAlenaio FloodControl Project,said that all three

projects were designed to carry the water that would develop in a“100-year-flood-level event” and that each performed very wellconsidering that this particular event exceeded that. By way ofexplanation, Pennaz said that a 100-year level translates to a onepercent chance per year that water flow in a specific area will ex-ceed established levels.

Preliminary estimates by the Corps based on high-water marksin the project site areas and other data indicated that the AlenaioFlood Control Project (FCP), which costnearly $16 million when it was completed in1998, prevented losses estimated at more than$14 million, and nearly paid for itself duringthis recent event. The quantity and force ofthe water was such, however, that Alenaio FCPdid not emerge completely unscathed. It sus-tained erosion damage at various sites alongthe stream bank throughout the project. Wa-ter overtopped the project at one location,but the overflow was contained by an adja-cent channel and rapidly returned to theproject. Rehabilitation costs for this projectwill be 100 percent federally funded and areestimated at $368,000.

Ten floods struck downtown Hilo from1920 through 1994 when the decision wasmade to go ahead with the Alenaio FCP. Thiswas the first real test of the project since 15inches of rain fell on Hilo during a two dayperiod in August 1994 just before construc-tion started.

According to similar preliminary esti-mates, the Wailoa Stream FCP preventeddamages of nearly $1.5 million, although a150-foot stretch of levee was overtopped

Big Island flood...Continued from page 1

when the natural stream path changed at the upstream end of theproject. Some 300 feet of rip-rap and 200 feet of concrete alsowashed away and will be replaced. Rocks and debris that ended upon the nearby UH-Hilo baseball field are being disposed of by theState of Hawaii. Costs for rehabilitation of this project are 100percent federally funded and are estimated at $1.6 million.

The Paauau Stream FCP near Pahala prevented estimatedlosses that could have exceeded $1.5 million, although it too sus-tained damage to a number of locations along the channel. Costsfor rehabilitation of the Paauau Stream FCP are 100 percent feder-ally funded and are estimated at $1.1 million.

Hydraulic engineer Nani Bennett, EC-T, said that in additionto these sites, the flood control project at Waiakea Stream, whichwas built by the County of Hawaii in 1985, is eligible for publicfunds to repair damages it received estimated at about $1.12 mil-lion. A total of 1,700 linear feet of natural side slope was scoured,as were portions of the channel bottom. Under Public Law 84-99,80 percent of the estimated amount will be federally funded. Acondition of eligibility for those monies under the public law isregular maintenance and a joint Corps of Engineers/State of Ha-waii O & M inspection every other year.

Repairs to all four projects are estimated at $4.19 million.HED project manager David Kern, PP-C, said that reports have justbeen finalized. Rehabilitation plans and specifications will be ini-tiated in January 2001 with awards for construction expected aroundMarch. The goal is to complete repairs prior to the start of the nextflood season which usually begins around the end of October.

Conclusive figures for Hawaii island-wide damages are notyet available.

“Although there was

some property damageto homes in areas otherthan our projects, major

tragedy was averted.”

Alenaio Stream outlet showing water level as it exits the flood control project.—Photo by Dan Meyers.

Talk: Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something.—Plato, Greek philosopher, 427-347 B.C.


Regional Roundup

Seoul, Korea -- The Far East District (FED) of the U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers was selected as the Pacific Air Force (PACAF) AirForce Design Agent of the year.

Col. Gregory S. Kuhr, FED Commander, accepted the awardon behalf of the district during a luncheon at the annual PACAFConference in Honolulu, October 31. During Fiscal Year 2000, theFar East District awarded construction contracts for a total of $100million for the U.S. Air Force in Korea.

In addition, Collen Chamberlain, Far East District, receivedthe PACAF Air Force Civilian Project Manager of the Year Award -Design Agent.

A significant achievement by the district was the completedesign and construction award of four major projects within sevenmonths. FED received the directive in February 2000 to designfour new Air Force major construction projects and award the con-

Far East District selected as PACAFAir Force Design Agent of the Year

tracts by September 30. These projects were inserted in the pro-gram with legislation providing Kosovo supplemental funding foralmost $25 million. In order to speed up the design and reviewprocess, PACAF, the Base Civil Engineers, and FED fully partici-pated in several weeks of design charrettes to better define andagree on the scope, cost, and siting for each facility. The projectswere intensively managed to keep them on schedule.

“Our partnership over many years has made it possible toexpedite these projects with professional technical support, effec-tive communications, and great cooperation in working the scheduleto achieve challenging goals,” said Robert Losey, programs andProject Management Division, FED.

The Far East District is the U.S. Department of Defense De-sign and Construction Agent for the Korean Peninsula.

FED holds team-building classes

The letter “T” is part of an exercise Raymond K. Ohta, President,Pacific Training and Development Company, uses during a 7-hourtraining class on team-building. Far East District team memberswere invited to attend this class during the first two weeks of Octo-ber 2000 as part of the district’s effort to invest in people and en-hance the effectiveness of the District’s Project Delivery Teams.Ohta conducted seven classes at the FED compound and two atCamp Humphreys. The classes were full every day with more peoplethan had signed up for the class. Approximately 300 people re-ceived the training.

James Dalton, Deputy for Programs and Project Management,arranged for the class at FED after it was strongly endorsed by RayJyo, his counterpart at the Corps’ Honolulu District. The purpose ofbringing the class to FED was to make us all work better as a team.

“The Corps as well as other government agencies and com-panies have recognized the strength of doing things as teams ratherthan as individuals,” Dalton said. “The Chief of Engineers decidedthe way for the Corps to do business is to use the Project Manage-ment Business Process and the core of that process is the ProjectDelivery Team.”

Dalton plans to bring a leadership course to FED in Januaryand possibly bring back the team-building class so those whomissed the October sessions will have another opportunity to ben-efit from the training. —Gloria Stanley, FED

HED Commander Lt. Col. Ronald N. Light (right), presents PacificOcean Division’s Construction Manager of the Year Award to GeraldYoung, Project Engineer at the Fort Shafter Resident Office. Youngwas selected, in part, for his role in the successful construction of theCombined Club Facility, one of the most modern and beautiful clubfacilities in the military today, according to the award submittal. —Photo by Michelle Cain.

What kind of person experiences a hurricane up close andpersonal and keeps going back for more? Ask Joel Hendrix.

He’s been there and done that. Seven times, but who’s counting?

And he didn’t just weather a little wind and rain—he was rightthere in the eye of each one.

Hendrix, the District’s new Chief of Emergency Management,comes from the Wilmington (N.C.) District where he held the sametitle. Considering that the Wilmington area suffered through sixdifferent major presidential disaster declarations in the past fiveyears, he’s accumulated extensive experience in disaster response.He’s also been deployed many times to support catastrophes else-where.

Hendrix graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy inNew London, Conn. in 1975. He spent 12 years on active duty,then joined the Coast Guard Reserve, retiring in 1996. He earned amasters degree in business administration from the University ofAlabama, Huntsville, in 1982. After leaving active duty, he took ayear sabbatical before accepting a job in Emergency Management(EM) with the Wilmington District. He’s been in EM ever since.

But why? What draws a person into a career field where hecomes into contact with so much destruction and suffering?

“Emergency Management offers immediate gratification,” hesaid. “When you’re doing a response you get to make immediatedecisions that have immediate impact on people in need. If we doour job right, we can leverage the resources of thousands of Corpsexperts to help out victims of hurricanes or other large-scale trag-edies.

“In Emergency Management, whether at the county, state orfederal level, our whole purpose is to help people,” he said. “It’salways a challenge because there’s an ever-changing customer, ever-changing group of responders, and ever-changing political climateout there. It’s never boring.”

Hendrix’ vision for HED’s Emergency Managementprogram is simple. “I want (it) to be the best in the Corps.I want FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)and the Army to think of HED first for its engineeringneeds,” he said. “To do that we’re going to set up to re-spond to a disaster as smoothly and seamlessly as possible.And then when we support others, when we give our sup-port to USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), we havethe best and brightest ready.”

Emergency Management can be a good marketingtool for the Corps, said Hendrix.

“When bad things happen, Emergency Managementis there. Emergency Management can be one of the out-reach vehicles for the Corps; we can help foster gettingbusiness for the Corps later.

“Typically, when disaster happens, it focuses pub-lic awareness more broadly. Disasters identify areas thatneed mitigation. Those mitigating measures are often en-gineering solutions—the shore protection and floodcontrol projects we build.”

Hendrix commented that he has been very impressedby HED employees in the short time he’s been here.

“The people I’ve met so far are very knowledgeableabout their job and how it fits into the bigger picture. That’s awonderful basis for good morale.

“People genuinely seem to be striving to do things best, todo it the right way.”

Hendrix had vacationed in Hawaii several times prior tomoving here, so he was familiar with the culture. “I like the ethnicdiversity, the folding in of different cultures,” he said. “The differ-ence in art, the difference in food, the difference in music makes ita special place.”

Hendrix is accompanied by his wife, Beth, and their chil-dren, Charlie, 6, and Leanna, 2. He also has a daughter, Lois, 17,who is completing high school on the mainland. His hobbies in-clude snorkeling, swimming, bicycling and snow-skiing.

EM office under new managementIdeas:


The human mind treats a new idea the way the body treats a strange protein; it rejects it.—P.B. Medawar, British biologist, 1915-

In Emergency Management,whether at the county, state orfederal level, our whole pur-

pose is to help people.

“

”

Story and photo by Michelle Cain.

Joel Hendrix, Chief of HED EM (Emergency Management)

Failure: I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. —Bill Cosby, comedian, 1937-


you to help me stop accidents from occurring. Look for hazards(risk analysis!) then eliminate them. This is not the Safety Manager’sjob, nor is it the job of our construction representatives out in thefield: It’s everyone’s job. Safety is a “below the line” task.

So where are we headed? I mentioned that the Chief of Engi-neers, Lt. Gen. Flowers, is scheduled to visit HED in early January.We will do a town hall meeting, and conduct office visits. This maybe the only time the Chief visits HED. Show him you are profes-sionals! Following the Chief’s visit, we have additional leadershiptraining scheduled, and we will continue to work on our FY 01OPLAN initiatives. Work is underway now to simplify our PMBPstandard operating procedures. Every day we take a step closer tofully operating under the PMBP. We are going to get there!

Let me close by saying “thanks” to those of you who arehelping to make HED the best place for the best people to work. Itis worth restating that I know many of you have chosen to make apositive difference in HED; you’re part of the “solution.” What wehave to do requires sacrifice and change…but we can be the bestDistrict in USACE if you want to be. It depends on you.

Finally, Beth and I wish you and your family a happy andjoyous Christmas and holiday season. We appreciate the fact thatyou’ve allowed us to be part of your Ohana. We wish you the verybest!

Mele Kalikimaka me ka Haoli Makahiki Hou!

In observance of National Disability Employment AwarenessMonth, members of HED, POD and DOIM got together Novem-

ber 4 to play wheelchair basketball at the Fort Shafter gym. Afourth team, Team Hawaii, was comprised of wheelchair-boundindividuals from around Oahu. After all was said and done, the real question in everyone’smind was, “Just who are the disabled ones here?” You couldn’ttell by looking at the scores: Team Hawaii rolled over DOIM, 26-14. Then they crushed the POD/HED/DOIM ‘Dream Team’ 24-6.HED defeated POD, 6-3. DOIM beat POD/HED, 16-12. “ It was enjoyable and oftentimes humorous watching the POD,HED, and DOIM players trying their best, despite not being ableto use their legs,” said Maydean Martin, Special Emphasis Pro-gram Committee (SEPC) Subcommittee Chairperson. “It was amaz-ing. It makes you thankful for what you have, and gives you morecompassion for those with disabilities.” Team POD members were: Brig. Gen. Randal Castro, 1st Lt. MarkDeRocchi (team captain), DE; Paul Yoo, ET-E; Dan Borges, RM;David Chun, PM; John Emmerson, ET-C; Robert Curnyn, ET-E;and Thomas Taam, ET-E. Team HED was made up of: Lt. Col. Ronald Light, Eric Bjorken(team captain), EC-DC; Sam Song, EC; Gary Nip, EC-D; GeraldYoung, EC-CF; Lolly Silva, EC-R; Ed Yoshimura, EC-CF; EdYago, EC-CF; and Dave Kern, PP-C. Judy Castro and Gayle Rich lent their support as timekeeperand scorekeeper. —Michelle Cain

SEPC organizes wheelchair basketballHED rolls over POD

Photo by Alexander Kufel

Continued from page 15Commander’s comments...

have volunteered for EM duty. I know who you are, and it saysvolumes about your commitment to service and leadership. Thanks.Want to join the Team? Contact our new EM Chief, Joel Hendrix.

•Excess Equipment Turn-in: The amount of junk that ourLogistics Office has turned in is staggering. Help them helpyou…and tell them thanks.

•Project Management Plans: The heart of the PMBP. Youcan’t run a project without a plan. Our high performing projectmanagers know this, and the PMPs are getting done. Rememberour employee relations manual? Here it is: “Just help.” The PMshave a tough job; I ask you to support them.

•FY 01 OPLAN: Have you looked at it lately? Are you work-ing to implement it? (Did you know that someone’s good ideasaved us about $700 in printing costs to get you the OPLAN poster?Do you have good ideas that can save us customer money? I payfor good ideas!)

•Year End Contracting: Thanks to the many of you whocontributed to this success. Special thanks to the staffs of Con-tracting and Resource Management. We conducted an AAR onthis process; next September we will do it even better.

•Safety: I am the safety officer for the District. I need all of

Truth:


It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak and another to hear.—Henry David Thoreau, American essayist and poet, 1817-1862

A Lesson In LearningJ.C. Penney was once asked how employees could best help them-

selves develop in their jobs. He said that study was the most impor-tant. By example, he recalled how he had the opportunity to lookover the records of a New York business school that trained men bycorrespondence. On the list were more than 1,300 presidents ofcorporations; 2,500 vice presidents; 2,000 treasurers; and 11,000managers. Here were men who had reached positions of high au-thority in business, but they were still eager to learn and to study tobecome more efficient. “That’s the kind of stuff in a man whichdeeps him growing,” Penney said.

—Manager’s Intelligence Report, Feb. 18, 1997

Real ConsequencesA middle school in Oregon was faced with a unique problem. A

number of girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on inthe bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick theywould press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.

Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. Shecalled all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with thecustodian. She explained that all these lip prints were causing amajor problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors everyday. To demonstrate how difficult it was to clean the mirrors, sheasked the custodian to clean one of the mirrors.

He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it into the toilet andthen cleaned the mirror.

Since then there have been no lip prints on the mirror.—First Draft

Redefining MomentsElaine Garzarelli was one of the most influential women in the

financial world during the 1980s stock market boom. She was namedone of Fortune’s Business People of the Year in 1988, was profiled inBusiness Week, and was featured on the cover of Working Woman.Her forecasts as star analyst at Shearson Lehman Brothers movedmarkets around the world. She predicted the 1987 stock marketcrash. But in the early 1990s, she was fired from Shearson, a victimof high salary, business restructuring, and a few less-than-stellarforecasts. But instead of allowing the outside world to define whoshe was, she picked herself up and decided to define herself. Shestarted her own company, Garzarelli Capital, a research and invest-ment firm. In five years, the two-person shop grew to 18 employees,who manage $1 billion and more than 300 institutional subscribersto her monthly report, Sector Analysis Monitor. When one pathdidn’t work, Garzarelli took another and redefined herself.

—First Draft

PRODUCTIVITYCORNER

HED civil engineer Tammy Luke, EC-CF, seated, talks to aUniversity of Hawaii student about an engineer internposition with the District. Luke, Erick Kozuma, EC-D;Clayton Sorayama, EC-D; Jim Bersson EC; and DianeLau, HR, all staffed a District booth at the UH College ofEngineering’s Career Day 2000 held Oct. 13 at the Manoacampus. District participation was arranged by the SpecialEmphasis Program Committee’s Outreach Subcommittee,whose co-chairs are Dan Nakamura, EC-E, and SharonIshikawa, PP-C. The Career Day was jointly sponsored bythe Associated Students of the University of Hawaii, theUH Engineer’s Council and the university’s College ofEngineering. Students attending the fair got informationabout job opportunities from more than 40 governmentand private industry booths. Luke, a frequent participantin these events, said she enjoys the opportunity to tell thestudents about the Corps and the District’s good record ofhiring and encouraging female engineers. Alaska Districtalso had a display at the Career Day, staffed by GlendonHeard and Vicki Johnson of the Alaska Civilian PersonnelAdvisory Center. —Photo by Doug MaKitten

Career Day 2000

Habitual BusinessmanTo be a success, you need to make it a habit. John D. Rockefeller

learned this early on. Before he became one of the richest men ever tolive, his habit of success was already forming as a child. He would buycandy by the pound, divide it into small portions, and then sell them tohis siblings for a tidy profit.

—First Draft

Time: You can’t measure time in days the way you can money in dollars because every day is different.—Jorge Luis Borges, Argentinian author, 1899-1986


Where we’ve been,where we are,

where we’re going

By Lt. Col.Ronald N. LightHED Commander

I remain committed

to addressing your

concerns.

”Commander’s Comments

On December 30 I will reach the “six-month mark” as yourcommander. I want to highlight where we have been during

the last six months, reiterate several issues, and then give you avision of where we are headed during the next several months.

As I write this, I am between trips to American Samoa, andGuam, Saipan, and the Republic of Palau. You have heard me saythat my intention during the first 90 days of my tenure as yourcommander was to meet you, discover the issues, and then set somedirection for the District. I asked you to provide me feedback onthe District, and you have. I remain committed to addressing yourconcerns (and I hope you will concur that we’ve made progress in anumber of areas already). The Special Emphasis Program Commit-tee has taken on the task of prioritizing the remaining issues you’veraised; more effort is coming on issues you’ve raised.

Your feedback helped me develop the policy memorandumswe have in place. My expectation is that you have read these memos(you can access them via our website at: http://www.pod. usace.army.mil/info/hedcom.html) and you are working to implementthe intent of the policies. In two significant areas, hiring and awards,I have empowered you to do the right thing. I trust that you willexecute these two areas fairly. I continue to believe in empoweringyou to do your job, and I encourage each of you to knock down thebarriers to effectively doing your job. That is what I want for you,and that is what Lt. Gen. Robert Flowers, the new Chief of Engi-neers, wants for you.

Now, speaking of policy memorandums, in my mind the mostimportant memo we’ve issued so far is the After Action Review(AAR) policy. To those of you who have already completed orparticipated in an AAR, I say well done! Many of you have readabout “Change.” The AAR process is about change. I consider theconduct of AARs the key to continuous improvement and thelongevity of the District. Conducting AARs means you are part ofthe solution; I hope everyone has chosen accordingly.

Many of you have attended leadership training during thepast several months. Nearly 100 percent of the feedback has beenpositive about this training. As diverse as HED is, this should tellyou something powerful about this instruction! During the nextseveral months we will develop comprehensive training guidance,much of which will focus on developing leaders. Remember: Youcan all be leaders! Our focus on leadership is another key to theDistrict’s longevity in my mind. I congratulate those of you whohave taken the leadership training we have offered. The District isbetter for your attendance at these courses.

During my recent trip to American Samoa, I learned what itmeans for HED to be “indispensable.” The people of AmericanSamoa genuinely depend on the District! Without the shore protec-

tion projects you have built, many of the roads in American Samoawould be washed out to sea. Without the roads you have built,villagers would be nearly isolated from major population centers.Without the harbors you have built, remote island villages wouldbe virtually cut off from the main American Samoan island ofTutuila. The American Samoan people know this, and everywhereI went they expressed to me their thanks. That’s service. That’sdelighting the customer. That’s indispensability.

Are we indispensable to all of our customers? No. Moreover,we have failed to delight some customers. We can get there, how-ever. I ask each of you to dedicate yourself to providing superiorservice to our customers (and one way to do this is by respondingto customer issues within one day, as found in our FY 01 OPLAN).It takes all of us to do this. Are you part of the team?

Service… leadership… improvement… always do the rightthing. These things should look familiar to you by now. They havenot changed, and they will not change during my tenure as yourcommander. You are part of the solution if you are applying thisphilosophy to your work in HED. These four things represent ourazimuth, our direction. I thank those of you who are applying theseprinciples.

Here now are some bullet updates and good news I want youto know about:

•Facilities Upgrade and Furniture Buy-out: If you haven’tbeen to Design Branch lately, go take a look at their new furniture.We have funds to provide similar furnishings for everyone in theDistrict. It’s true, and you deserve it. We are on our way to renovat-ing the Fort Shafter Resident Office, too. In the interim before yourfurniture arrives, I ask you to throw away the junk and get rid of theclutter. The new Chief of Engineers will visit us the first week ofJanuary; you are professionals…you can show the Chief that.

•Security Upgrades: Every building will have a securitysystem shortly. Do your part, however, to prevent theft and break-ins.

•Balancing Workload: You told me that not everyone hasan equivalent workload, and you are right. Leaders have begun tomake workload assignments equitable. I will ask for your feedbackon this again.

•Emergency Management Teams: Nearly a dozen of you

See “Commander’s comments,” page 13

“

Heroes:


We can’t all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.—Will Rogers, American author and actor, 1879-1935

Aloha means Hello to…Sandra Ginto, Engineering and Con-struction Division; Vincent Faggioli, Office of Counsel; Fred Goto,

Engineering and Construction Division; AllenToma, Information Management Office;

Nani Bennet, Engineering andConstruction Division, upon re-turning from JED; Joel Hendrix,Emergency Management Division;Jesus Duarte, Engineering and

Construction Division, Kwajalein; MichelleCain, Public Affairs Office; Felicidad Ravago, Engineering

and Construction Division; Derek Chow, Programs and ProjectManagement Division; Yvette Nozaki, Resource Management Of-fice; Kristopher Li, Resource Management Office; and MarkArakaki, Engineering and Construction Division.

The Special Emphasis Program Committee hosted a salsa and guacamoletasting contest in September to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. GayleRich’s “El Bud’s Delight Salsa” took first place in the Taste category. Italso tied with Sybil Hamasaki’s “Salsa Bites” for Originality. RussellTakara’s “Fix My Computer Salsa” took top honors in the Appearancecategory. —Photo by Doug MaKitten.

Aloha meansGoodbye andGood Luck to…Laurie Minami, whotransferred to POD;Lyanne Kiyuna, whoretired October 31; Ri-chard Iha, who trans-ferred to the Navy;Glen Yanagi, whotransferred to theCoast Guard; RussellIwamura, who trans-ferred to POD; and Ra-leigh Sakado, who re-tires January 17.Mahalo to all of theHED employees whocontributed to thisyear’s CombinedFederal Campaign.The District achievedits goal of contacting 100-percent of employees, with 82-percentcontributing. The total amount collected was $45,097.25 plus oneconfidential donation.Noteworthy: A dozen HED employees attended the Army’s Sus-tainable Design and Development Training, held in Bldg. 230, inNovember. The three-day workshop included small group discus-sions, case studies, and a hands-on “mini-charrette” exercise.

Congratulations to Lt. Col. David Goddard,HED Deputy Commander, on his promotionfrom Maj. The November 3 ceremony wasofficiated by Brig. Gen. Randal R. Castro, PODCommander. —Photo by Alexander Kufel.

Not your usual police line-up, JohnEmmerson, POD-ET-C; Pat Billington, OC;Daniel Meyers, EC-T; MaryAnn Tilton, RM-F; Lynette Kwock, EC-DC; and HelenStupplebeen, POD-PM (above) enjoy the an-nual Halloween PauHana on October 27.The Viking menace, Eric the Terrible, a.k.a.Eric Bjorken(left) crashed the party and triedto steal the show. —Photos by Michelle Cain.

Nation’s tennis champs...HED’s Rodney Leong, PP-M (backrow, center) and teammates won the U.S. League Tennis NationalChampionship in San Diego in September. The Clock & Trophy men’s4.0 team from Pearl City brought home Hawaii’s first trophy in ten years.—Photo courtesy of Rodney Leong.

HED

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Documents

December 2000 Torrential rains test Corps Big Island flood control … · 2012-07-19 · I don’t mind retiring as it gives ‘emerging’ leaders an opportunity to emerge. “ ”